S/O of 7 Passenger Vehicle thread

BW1426 · Dec 2, 2008

Sienna AWD
Outlook/Acadia AWD
Durango
Explorer/Mountaineer with 3rd row seating

If we're looking for something that fits this:
-headrests in all positions
-lap/shoulder belts in all positions
-enough room for a yellow lab in back
-good safety ratings
-decent on fuel
-Third row seating (won't be used on a daily basis)
-AWD/4WD

What are going to be the shortcomings of these vehicles?

Feel free to add other vehicles you think would work--though we don't have any foreign dealers close by for warranty work to be done at.

sirrahn · Dec 2, 2008

I have a friend who has a Mountaineer w/3rd row and if you have to use it, there is pretty much zero cargo space in back. I couldn't fit my umbrella stroller at all and her giant diaper bag barely fit.

BW1426 · Dec 2, 2008

sirrahn said:
I have a friend who has a Mountaineer w/3rd row and if you have to use it, there is pretty much zero cargo space in back. I couldn't fit my umbrella stroller at all and her giant diaper bag barely fit.

That's what I was wondering/kind of expecting. Knock that off the list. Thanks

rodentranger · Dec 2, 2008

I have a 2003 Honda Pilot that I love! It seats 8, gets 20-22mpg, and isn't ginormous. Headrests and shoulder belts in all positions (they do come out of the ceiling for center seats, which can make car seat installs tricky). LATCH is only in the 2nd row outboard seats, ff tether anchors for all 6 rear seats. I can only find one rf tether spot for the second row. Excellent safety ratings too!
With the third row up, there is not room for a dog in the way back, but my Pliko P3 fit perfectly back there. I usually belt my dogs into the third row. With only the 60 side of the third row up, I can have both dogs and the P&T stroller back there. (The stroller wheels go in the space where the 40 side would be.)
I will say that an adult would not be super comfy in the third row for a long trip. It is fine for forward facing car seats though, IME. Not enough room for a rf seat.
With the third row down...I'll put it this way: We went camping with three adult size people, one toddler and a weeks worth of stuff (including an 8 person tent, camp chairs, a boatload of food, a queen air mattress, a twin air mattress, bedding, entertainment for a 15 yo and an 18 mo old, etc) and were comfortable.
If you are buying new, the 2009 Pilots have LATCH in four seating positions.

BW1426 · Dec 2, 2008

rodentranger said:
I have a 2003 Honda Pilot that I love! It seats 8, gets 20-22mpg, and isn't ginormous. Headrests and shoulder belts in all positions (they do come out of the ceiling for center seats, which can make car seat installs tricky). LATCH is only in the 2nd row outboard seats, ff tether anchors for all 6 rear seats. I can only find one rf tether spot for the second row. Excellent safety ratings too!
With the third row up, there is not room for a dog in the way back, but my Pliko P3 fit perfectly back there. I usually belt my dogs into the third row. With only the 60 side of the third row up, I can have both dogs and the P&T stroller back there. (The stroller wheels go in the space where the 40 side would be.)
I will say that an adult would not be super comfy in the third row for a long trip. It is fine for forward facing car seats though, IME. Not enough room for a rf seat.
With the third row down...I'll put it this way: We went camping with three adult size people, one toddler and a weeks worth of stuff (including an 8 person tent, camp chairs, a boatload of food, a queen air mattress, a twin air mattress, bedding, entertainment for a 15 yo and an 18 mo old, etc) and were comfortable.
If you are buying new, the 2009 Pilots have LATCH in four seating positions.

No foreign dealers within 100 miles

rodentranger · Dec 2, 2008

Ah yes, Michigan. Hmmm. Too bad! Of course, driving to get one would be cheaper in the long run than buying a domestic with worse mpg.

ETA: I stand corrected. Acoording to kbb, my Pilot sucks for mpg as compared to the Acadia.
I suppose I should have said, "Driving Could be cheaper..." not having done my appropriate and apparently required research.

erinnicolevan · Dec 2, 2008

We've got a Sienna and a Durango ('04). I used the Durango daily with my 4 kids until I got the Sienna. It has very limited cargo space with the 3rd row up. I could get my Aria Twin stroller back there with maybe 3 bags of groceries and that was it. Taking it on vacation with all of us was extremely cramped. The middle row is really wide, so I never had trouble fitting 3 seats back there. Install was always pretty easy, too. Plus, it's got a Hemi, so gas mileage was awful, especially over the summer when gas prices were sky high. I like it okay. It was the first American car I ever owned, but I wouldn't buy another one. No real reason why - I just prefer the Toyota/Honda/Nissans.

TXDani · Dec 2, 2008

If you are buying newer and a foreign auto works better for you I don't think having to drive 100 miles to the dealer would be that big of a problem.

I would rather have the car I want and one that fits my needs the best and have to deal with the long drive to the dealer on the rare occasions you need it. My car is a 07 with 45,000 miles and it has only been to the dealer for annoying little fixes but nothing that *had* to be done. My Sienna never had to go to the dealer when I had it. It just isn't that common that you need to take it into the dealer.

If you don't change your oil yourself you can take it to an Oil Can Henry's or whatever. I just can't see buying just an okay car just because when you do need a dealer it is far away (but 100 miles ins't that far). Most warranties include towing to the nearest dealer if the car is not in drivable condition.

oursonend · Dec 2, 2008

DaniCPST said:
If you are buying newer and a foreign auto works better for you I don't think having to drive 100 miles to the dealer would be that big of a problem.

I would rather have the car I want and one that fits my needs the best and have to deal with the long drive to the dealer on the rare occasions you need it. My car is a 07 with 45,000 miles and it has only been to the dealer for annoying little fixes but nothing that *had* to be done. My Sienna never had to go to the dealer when I had it. It just isn't that common that you need to take it into the dealer.

If you don't change your oil yourself you can take it to an Oil Can Henry's or whatever. I just can't see buying just an okay car just because when you do need a dealer it is far away (but 100 miles ins't that far). Most warranties include towing to the nearest dealer if the car is not in drivable condition.

ITA with this.

Being from a rural area, that is actually a pretty normal commute.

FWIW the only vehicles I will consider buying are foreign, and I would gladly drive a long way to get one. My last car I picked up 250 km away... no biggie.

BW1426 · Dec 2, 2008

I'm the nanny and I'm afraid I'll be the one stuck dealing with any issues if there isn't a local dealer. I'll run it by her again. If it were my choice I'd go with the Sienna, Acadia/Outlook or Pilot.

Peony · Dec 2, 2008

We have a 2006 AWD Sienna, in two years, we've only brought it to the dealer once. That was for a safety recall, other then that, we've had no real issues with it.

There is more then enough room in the Sienna, I usually keep the 60 part of the 3rd row folded down and just the 40 up for even more cargo space. My only real complaint with the AWD Sienna is that it comes with run flat tires since there is no room for a spare and they aren't cheap to replace. We didn't bring our van to the dealer when we had to replace them (we are in a very rural area as well), but had a local tire shop order them for us.

christineka · Dec 3, 2008

We had a honda and have never lived near a dealer. We only had to take the van (not the car) to the dealer once in 8 years. It was because I lost the key and we needed a new one made. It had a magnetically programmed key, so we had to go to the dealer. (Towed the van.) It was excessively expensive and then shortly afterward we found the key in my sweatshirt pocket. (It was July.) Otherwise, we had the vehicles serviced at independant mechanics. Other dealerships could get into our radio for the code since every time the battery went out it needed it again and we didn't have it. (Lamentations of buying used without the code, the manual, or the trunk key.)...

Anyway, you can live without the dealer most of the time. Our local place will go out and get us a Sienna from auction if we ask them too. We'll see about prices when we are ready to buy.

jen_nah · Dec 3, 2008

rodentranger said:
Ah yes, Michigan. Hmmm. Too bad! Of course, driving to get one would be cheaper in the long run than buying a domestic with worse mpg.

I think you need to go do some research before you pipe off with some crazy response.

If you just simple went to kbb.com and looked up the mpg of the Acadia, Sienna & Piol the Acadia actually had better mpg then the Honda & Toyota. Plus the Acadia is one of IIHS top picks in crash testing. So, Your "driving would be cheaper" is untrue with no factual backing to it.

jen_nah · Dec 3, 2008

As some one that has owned a lot of vehicles (more then the average Joe) and all but one being a GM or Ford I haven't had an major or minor problems with my GM vehicles. I had a '05 Tahoe for almost 4yr before my now current Pontiac G8 and it only saw the dealer for routine maintance and never went in for anything mechinally and when we traded it in it had over 60k on it.

My dh drives a '02 Silverado (bought in 9/01) and in the 7yrs it only had to be taken to the dealer 2 times and both times it was due to dh being the cause of the problem. The 1st he was doing a computer program on the CPM (I think that is the name of it) and whipped it out. The 2nd time was just recently. He was trying to add a secondary fuel system and just couldn't get to the area of the motor.

oxeye · Dec 4, 2008

I just bought a new Sienna and it was between that and the Acadia/Outlook (the only two that fit all of my needs and had AWD/4WD).

The major reasons I went with the Sienna - easier access to the third row, roomier cargo area with the third row up, and removable headrests in the second row (I hate having to install FF seats in front of headrests that don't come off!).

It was a tough decision for me, though because I really don't like minivans but I'm very happy with my Sienna so far. If I didn't have a dealer close by to do warranty work, though I probably would have gone with the Acadia or Outlook. I think I read there might be a way to get the dealer to remove the headrests (but then that sucks when you want a passenger there every now and then). And the access to the third row isn't a huge deal if you won't always have someone riding back there.

So I personally don't think you could go wrong with either.

jen_nah · Dec 4, 2008

oxeye said:
I just bought a new Sienna and it was between that and the Acadia/Outlook (the only two that fit all of my needs and had AWD/4WD).

The major reasons I went with the Sienna - easier access to the third row, roomier cargo area with the third row up, and removable headrests in the second row (I hate having to install FF seats in front of headrests that don't come off!).

It was a tough decision for me, though because I really don't like minivans but I'm very happy with my Sienna so far. If I didn't have a dealer close by to do warranty work, though I probably would have gone with the Acadia or Outlook. I think I read there might be a way to get the dealer to remove the headrests (but then that sucks when you want a passenger there every now and then). And the access to the third row isn't a huge deal if you won't always have someone riding back there.

So I personally don't think you could go wrong with either.

If your talking about removing the headrests on the Outlook/Acadia why? In the owners manual it says to recline the seat back so many clicks when installing the carseat. It gets rid of the headrest issue. I have had no issues with a multitude of different seats in the Acadia/Outlook.

oxeye · Dec 4, 2008

jen_nah said:
If your talking about removing the headrests on the Outlook/Acadia why? In the owners manual it says to recline the seat back so many clicks when installing the carseat. It gets rid of the headrest issue. I have had no issues with a multitude of different seats in the Acadia/Outlook.

It's what someone on here who owns one told me when I was debating between the two. Even if it isn't an issue, I still would have gone with the Sienna for the other reasons listed.

rodentranger · Dec 4, 2008

jen_nah said:
I think you need to go do some research before you pipe off with some crazy response.

If you just simple went to kbb.com and looked up the mpg of the Acadia, Sienna & Piol the Acadia actually had better mpg then the Honda & Toyota. Plus the Acadia is one of IIHS top picks in crash testing. So, Your "driving would be cheaper" is untrue with no factual backing to it.

Not sure why the rudeness, but whatever.
I did quite a bit of research before buying my Pilot. Granted, I was buying used for under $20K, so the Acadia wasn't in my search field.
True Cost to Own 2009 Acadia: $64,977
True Cost to Own 2009 Pilot: $51,974
True Cost to Own 2009 Sienna: $51,187
Looks to me like driving a ways to buy foreign might actually be cheaper.
BTW, I'm seeing the Pilot as having 17/23 mpg, the Acadia as having 17/24 mpg on kbb.com. Really is that difference worth being rude about?

jen_nah · Dec 4, 2008

rodentranger said:
Not sure why the rudeness, but whatever.
I did quite a bit of research before buying my Pilot. Granted, I was buying used for under $20K, so the Acadia wasn't in my search field.
True Cost to Own 2009 Acadia: $64,977
True Cost to Own 2009 Pilot: $51,974
True Cost to Own 2009 Sienna: $51,187
Looks to me like driving a ways to buy foreign might actually be cheaper.
BTW, I'm seeing the Pilot as having 17/23 mpg, the Acadia as having 17/24 mpg on kbb.com. Really is that difference worth being rude about?

First off if your going to post "true cost of ownership" then you might want to put both the Pilot & Acadia on the same playing field. Seeing as you put the top of the line Acadia to the bottom of the line Pilot which is $11k in orginal purchase price differance makes a HUGE impact on cost of ownership. So lets compare apples to apples and not apples to oranges.

Here is the real "true cost of ownership" for the bottom line SLE Acadia instead of the top of the line SLT Acadia like you tried to compare.
True Cost to Own 2009 Acadia: $52,013

As for my post I was on responding to your rude snide remark first post. Which implies domestic vehicles have worse mpg which I did prove you wrong on. Your right 1mpg isn't a huge deal but it's not worse like you stated.

SafeDad · Dec 4, 2008

The other thing you need to consider with cost of ownership number from Intellichoice and others is how they look at depreciation. They almost always use the MSRP as the purchase price, which can be very unfair. Some models sell for much larger discounts from MSRP than others, especially when rebates are considered.

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